This Mommy Runs on Caffeine

This Mommy Runs on Caffeine

February 20, 2011

Dog, Meet Hydrant; Hydrant, Meet Murphy

Do you ever have one of those weeks where you think you're the hydrant instead of the dog? This past week was exactly that for me. I just felt like everything that I had to deal just plain sucked a big dog biscuit. It wasn't horribly traumatic, but just one darn thing going sideways right after the another!
  My week was insanely busy at work- I say that in a good way- but sometimes it just makes my head spin! As a project manager, I am constantly switching gears and in the middle of many things at one time.  It's fun, exciting and above all is mentally taxing.  At the end of the day after a long commute, I very much appreciate some needed downtime to debrief when I get home; and not being able to sometimes causes additional stress.  Take for example when I get home from a long day and have to deal with something like, oh, our central heat going out during a very rainy and cold week!! I don't do cold well. 
    Sometime in the middle of the night on Tuesday, the motor of our HVAC unit in our six-year old home went out. Unfortunately, it took a full day to realize that there was a bigger issue than a dirty filter or new batteries in the thermostats. And seeing the dollar signs adding up to fix whatever is wrong definitely is making life a bit colder, no pun intended. 
  On top of the heater freezing (ha ha), mini-us came down with a bug and has been sick for over a week.  Wednesday and Thursday were the worst of the days.  Keeping her warm in a cold house led to lots of improvising with blankets, space heaters and steamy showers.  We managed to get the master bedroom to a balmy 67 degrees, while the rest of the house is forming icicles......
   Come Thursday, another long day, I finally talked myself into going to the gym (actually it was my BFF who wanted some company) for the first time in eons and not even 15 minutes into my workout I get a panicked call from hubby telling me I have to come home now. Click.  Uh, okay.  Thank goodness I remembered to shut off the treadmill prior to dismounting..... I hurry home to K crying and Jason freaking out.  Apparently he was taking her temperature and she moved and resulted in a big ol' boo boo with her screaming and bleeding out of her ear.  And a trip to the E.R.
  She was okay, but blood coming out of an ear is never good.  And poor Jason was beside himself with guilt.  With some ear drops and a little TLC, she'll be as good as new in about a week.  Adding injury to the little cold, and the literal cold- we're certainly batting 1000! 
   I was certainly looking forward to a three-day weekend and capped off my Friday evening with a hot bath, a glass of wine and sugar cookies for dinner. 
I wake up on Saturday with a disposition much chillier than broken-heater-room-temperature and decide to build a fire.  Apparently there was something blocking the flue and our house quickly fills with smoke, the fire alarms go off and alas, another freakin' problem to deal with.  I prop open the doors, open the windows, turn on all of the fans and it completely defeats the purpose of a warm house.... crap!  I snapped- called my dad crying wanting him to fix it, like now. 
  The rest of my morning is spent trying to remove the smoky smell from the house, a trip to the gym and a mani.  Oh, and discovering that there was some chicken in the fridge that dripped everywhere and contaminated everything below.  Issue five.  Fun.    And I do even remember at some point cooking dinner during the week, I burned it- difficult to do in my trusty Pampered Chef pans.... but that's the life of a hydrant.
My saving grace came in the form of dad showing up with a cord of wood and two really stiff drinks at dinner while celebrating my lil' sis' 21st birthday.         
  This morning I've bid Mr. Murphy adios and I'm enjoying a toasty fire, fresh blueberry pancakes, nothing on the agenda and my little girl acting almost her usual sweet self again.  I'm still shaking my head over the events of the week.  And appreciating that while shit does happen, it could be worse, and am thankful for the things that we do have- a home (although a bit faulty), family and health (even if at the current moment it does have a runny nose).  I try to see the glass as half-full, but there's just those times where the problems pile up, that Susie Sunshine isn't quite so. It could be worse... of course, but personal issues feel very large when you are in the middle of them no matter the magnitude. It also takes the support of the right people to help with your little problems- a good friend who's ex-husband owns an HVAC company; a dad who is a Don-of-All-Trades; friends who listen to your problems and leave a bottle of wine at your door; and interest in your new-to-you Keurig and lots of caffeine to get you over the hump.
We now return to our regularly scheduled blogging after this wine, er, whine.....

February 14, 2011

Will You Be My Anti-Valentine?

I'm going to freely admit that today is not one of my favorite 'holidays' of the year. And by holiday I mean that in the sense that it has earned its own printed day on the calendar, not a day free from work. It has weaseled it's way into our lives commercially, setting up false expectations forcing people to purchase gifts simply because the masses do and it's socially unacceptable to buck the trend. In this case, you’ll be a cheap, forgetful bastard/ beyotch sleeping in the other room if you boycott February 14th and forget to bring ‘everybody’ else in on the plan.
   I'm not a hater of all things red and heart shaped, I just take slight to commercialism (now as for pink and heart-shaped, that's an entirely different story!).  Take for example; my poor mom was in a fit because she couldn't afford to get K something for Valentine's Day. (Now Mom, you've seen her playroom and nursery- do you really think that she wants for much?) So she baked us cute little cookies with fluffy sugary frosting- yummy and quite perfect. Those are going to be one of the best presents ever. Besides I bought her a boose (K's word for balloon) and said it was from Mammas BB.
    My dislike of the V-Day goes way back to even grade school. Third, fourth and fifth grade kids are just plain mean- and even more so if you happen to be smart and have red hair. I despised the parties and knowing that I was going to get less stupid cartoon cards..... my mommy was smart and instilled in me values of acceptance and fairness and made me give one to all of the little kids- even the ones that picked their noses. To this day I shudder when I see boxes of kiddie Valentines! (Hope that passes before K hits preschool!)  More so, I also always hated seeing my mom unhappy because her then-husband was selfish and never showered her with flowers and fluffy animals or candy. The lack of effort was appalling- not even a card. (The bare minimum!)
    In high school my dislike grew- not because I didn’t have boyfriends to bestow upon me the commercial treats, but because I hated all of the catty one-upmanship of the next day. Um, yeah, I know that you got two dozen roses and I just got three single roses but your boyfriend also was seen getting friendly with Olga just two days ago- yep, that’s true love! I know a handful of people who are still originally together since high school (the rest have swapped!) and I give them props- Valentine’s Day or not! I just found that instead of it making you all lovey and sentimental, it instead made you feel quite the opposite.
     And in college…. I wrote an editorial for my Junior College paper about how wrong it is for the commercial world to make you feel like crap because you’re single. At the time I was newly separated and my beloved Dalmatian was my Valentine- we dined on McD’s cheeseburgers and Boone’s Farm- obviously memorable even that long ago. Fifteen years ago that was progressive- now it’s just called anti-valentinism and is a great reason to go to the bar with your friends and celebrate Sex-in-the-City style.
     It's just a date on the calendar, much like January or June 14th- the world doesn't stop because cupid is amongst us.  Trust me, he wasn't at either of the funerals that I've been to in recent years on....yep, February 14th.....
     Consider if Hallmark created cards in the true origination of the day: A Roman priest- Saint Valentine- whom secretly married couples despite Claudius II’s outlawing marriage (Hmm… sounds like a current event) was condemned and beaten to death with clubs and beheaded. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, 270AD. Those would be lovely graphics, wouldn’t they?
PERMA-VALENTINE!!!
     Our family isn’t entirely boycotting the day- I received a sweet text message this morning and we purchased together a beautiful dozen roses partly because they were part of a Safeway promotion; little Miss K got two Valentine- hemed boose’s from the $ store and there will be cards exchanged but no over-the-top gifts. I’d rather have those for no reason at all. We usually don’t do dinner out either as pricey boring menus with sub par service isn't worth celbrating (thanks anyways Leah for the offer to watch K- much appreciated!) but there’s an IHOP BOGO coupon out today that is mighty appealing. But I’m actually looking forward a Valentine’s family-style: cooking the cranberry pork chops together from the cookbook that J gave to me as a special, heartfelt Christmas present and enjoying a glass of red wine with a chick-flick after our very best forever-Valentine goes to bed.

February 8, 2011

A Lucky Charm.....

THIS is why the Packers won the Superbowl:

(my step-mom is originally from Wisconsin and they are huuuuge Green Bay fans; a good friend who shares the same surname with the MVP happened to get this jersey while in Green Bay during his rookie season..... must have been fate!!)




(Just a note that BabyK was only on loan for the big game, she has now since returned to being a Rams fan.....)